Pumpkin Pie Buckwheat Pancakes

More pumpkin. Because I can’t get enough of it. Can’t stop won’t stop. My kids have totally jumped on the bandwagon too, and how can I possibly deny them the pleasure: “no children, you’ve had enough squash for one day”.

As if pumpkin weren’t fad enough, this recipe is also free of wheat, gluten, dairy and eggs. Whoa.

I never thought that *I* would publicly extol the virtues of a breakfast that contains no wheat, gluten, dairy or eggs. I have always been something of a “so what exactly is it made of then?” skeptic. But then I fell in love with a lactose-intolerant dude. And we made a kid who blows up like a puffer fish if you feed him eggs or wheat. So out went the skepticism and in came the millet flour, the “flax eggs” (yup, that’s a thing) and the rice milk.

While I was up to the challenge of baking and cooking without the basic pantry staples, I was surprised (shocked, really) to find that the results were actually (prepare yourself, skeptics) GOOD. Not just good actually, but delicious. And in some cases more delicious than their wheat/egg/dairy-containing counterparts.

Case in point: these Pumpkin Pie Buckwheat Pancakes. Ignore the “wheat” part, because buckwheat is not wheat, is not related to wheat, and doesn’t taste like wheat. It does act a little bit like wheat when ground into flour, though, and it has a lovely nutty flavour that makes a perfect base for a breakfast pancake. When combined with some spiced-up pumpkin puree, ground flax seeds, milk or “milk”, and a few other basics, then cooked on a skillet brushed with a generous lick of coconut oil, and doused with a bit of maple syrup, the result is magically fritter-like. Yes, Kiwi compared these vegan, gluten-free, squash-containing pancakes to DONUTS. There is a god, clearly. And he sent me a digestively-challenged family just so that I could discover this buckwheaty secret, and convert the un-believers.

Even if you have zero dietary restrictions, intolerances or allergies, these pancakes are worth putting into your breakfast rotation. While I don’t think wheat and milk are quite the demons that some popular diets have made them out to be, I do think it makes intuitive sense to rotate through as many different nutritious foods as possible. Not only does it up the chance that you will meet all of your body’s nutritional requirements, it makes life—and breakfast—a little more interesting. And there’s nothing faddish about that.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk the pumpkin, flax, vanilla extract, maple syrup and milk in a small bowl. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, and whisk until well combined. Let the batter stand for 10-15 minutes.

Set a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat; coat it generously with coconut oil or butter; and drop on the batter by quarter cupfuls. Cook until bubbles start to form, then flip and cook on the other side until nicely browned. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more coconut oil or butter for each batch. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup, or let them cool on a wire rack and then freeze in single layers in ziploc bags or freezer-proof containers. Reheat in the toaster.

I have tried the recipe with 2% cow's milk and with rice milk mixed with a splash of coconut milk (for added fat). Both worked well. I expect almond milk would do the trick, but I haven't tried it. If you try it, please come back and leave a comment on the recipe!

Do NOT skimp on the butter or coconut oil. This is the key to making these pancakes delicious, but it also prevents them from sticking to the pan. This is the only added fat, as the batter doesn't contain any oil or butter.

These are great on their own with a bit of maple syrup, but I also like to serve them with cinnamon roasted apples (as pictured). To make the apples, cut up a couple of apples and put them in a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the apples with olive oil, or dot them with butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until the apples are nice and soft.

40 Responses to Pumpkin Pie Buckwheat Pancakes

Does anyone have a way to get these to cook through and not stick horribly to the pan? I tried thinning the batter out, turning the heat down, using so much coconut oil they were pretty much deep fried….they just stick and turn into big balls of mush:(
I REALLY want to be able to make these as I can’t do gluten or eggs so making pancakes is a tough-y and I love buckwheat. I see other people have the same problem but there has been no answers back to them. Any suggestions? Thanks 🙂

Do not make these if you don’t want to spend hours scrubbing off your pans. Despite using copious amounts of coconut oil for cooking and even thinning out the batter with more milk and additional oil, these pancakes stuck to the pan like nothing I’ve ever seen. By the time I actually scraped most of a pancake from the pan it was so destroyed it wasn’t even worth eating. Plus the mushy, torn up mounds were still not cooked through even after re-forming them and just letting them sit on the stove on low for over 10 minutes. Waste of a morning.

As i love all things pumpkin even the color orange i had to try these.They turned out good using almond milk i just found it worked better for them to flow out better if i added some more milk after they sat otherwise they are too thick.Next i will try them with cashew milk.Thanks for the recipe ; )

Oh darn, sorry they don’t work for you Ann. If you do decide to try again, maybe thin the batter out with a little milk and then spread the batter thinner in the pan. You can also pop the finished pancakes into the oven on a relatively low heat and this helps them firm up in the centre.

YUM, I love pumpkin!! I also love that you are a semi-professional shower singer! LOVE! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you share this week! Its LIVE!